With a deep, steadying sigh, Oti pushed open the mosquito net and climbed onto the bed, her pulse racing. Moments later, Lukas crashed through the door and as he looked at her on the middle of the king-size bed she held her breath.
‘Stay there,’ he commanded, his voice low and rough because she affected him too much.
‘I wasn’t going anywhere,’ she told him solemnly.
She wasn’t entirely sure where that had come from; she only knew that she liked the effect it had on her husband. More than liked it.
His eyes were almost black with desire as he stripped off his shorts with ruthless efficiency, then sprang up as proud and magnificent as she remembered. Oti heard her own reverent sigh, and her mouth was suddenly parched.
She paused, a kind of wildness scrambling in her chest, and then he was climbing onto the bed next to her, scooping his arms around and flipping her flat onto her back before she realised what was happening.
This was what she’d been waiting for.
This was...
Abruptly, he stopped, and her eyes flew open.
Was something wrong?
‘Condom?’ he managed gruffly.
‘Condom?’ she echoed weakly.
‘Do you have any?’ he demanded, leaving her blinking for a few seconds.
It took her an inordinate amount of time to process what he was saying.
‘We need one.’ He sounded pained. As though he could barely stop.
Oti paused, willing herself to think straight.
‘I have one.’ Eventually, her lips drew into a thin line. ‘In the drawer of the dressing table.’
His jaw tightened.
‘You keep condoms in your tukul? Since me, or before me?’
‘It isn’t my tukul. It’s our tukul,’ Oti pointed out, if a little breathlessly, though she couldn’t say that glint of possessiveness in his tone didn’t make her heart leap in triumph. ‘I’ve never stayed in this one before you because, strangely enough, I’ve never been married before.’
He grunted a half acknowledgement, so she pressed on.
‘But, in answer to your question, they were given to me by my boss the minute she saw you.’
‘I take it that’s supposed to be a compliment.’ He pulled a face.
‘Trust me, it is. We’re medical staff. You have no idea quite how weird our sense of humour is sometimes.’
‘I’m beginning to learn,’ Lukas remarked drily, pulling apart the mosquito net and sliding off the bed to head to the dressing table.
‘I do feel bad, though,’ Oti continued as she watched him. ‘The people here have so little. I feel awful about accepting from their supplies, even though I know it’s for the staff too, to keep everyone safe.’
‘I’ll send out a hundred to replace them,’ he declared, crossing back to the bed. ‘A thousand. Hell, I’ll even send a million, just for you to shut up and either slide that on me or give it to me to do.’
A ridiculous giggle escaped her, like some kind of schoolgirl, but Oti couldn’t lament it. It felt like a side of her—the sillier side—that had been missing for so long had returned.
‘I’d rather have a million tetanus shots,’ she joked, as he finished pulling the net back into place, so they didn’t get bitten alive.
‘Done,’ he ground out, flicking the condom onto the bed with his thumb and forefinger. ‘It’s worth it just for this.’
‘Do you have any idea how much a million tetanus shots would cost?’ She laughed, tearing the wrapper and sliding out the sleeve of rubber,
Hopefully, he wouldn’t see how much her hands were shaking. He was so hot, so ready, and it sent a glorious, heavy heat permeating through her entire body.
‘If it means you stop worrying about using a couple of condoms from the supplies,’ he managed thickly, his eyes still gratifyingly riveted on the sight of her sliding the protection over his impressive length, ‘then I think I can spare the money. Didn’t you know that I’m a billionaire?’
‘No, I think that detail might have escaped me,’ she tried for levity, but there was no escaping the need that laced her voice.
She was grateful when he took control again.
‘Now stop talking and come here.’
Scooping her up, he brought her back beneath him before she’d even realised it.
‘Much better,’ he approved, letting his gaze roam over her, leaving a trail of fire in its wake.
And then he took his time, as if committing every dip and every curve to memory. As if he couldn’t get enough of her.
Oti watched him, unable to drag her gaze away. There was an almost fierceness in his expression as he took her in. A reverence that made her feel more beautiful than she thought she’d ever felt. And then he settled between her legs again, every inch of his sex pressed into her heat, and that primitive need surged through him all over again.
‘Lukas...’
‘Hush, my lady,’ he teased, his teeth grazing her neck halfway between pleasure and pain. ‘Now is not the time for more words.’
As if to prove his point, he sat back on his heels, nestled between her legs. Then he reached out and simply tore her lace panties off, the raunchy sound seeming to echo in their private hut.
And finally, finally, he was there—where she ached for him the most. He took care lining himself up, but still he held back. She could sense it. Almost feverishly, she lifted her legs to wrap right around his body, thrilling as his blunt tip inched deeper.
‘Careful,’ he warned hoarsely. ‘I’m not sure how long I can resist you.’
She moved her hands down his back, her fingernails skimming over his skin and making him shudder with pleasure.
‘What if I don’t want you to resist me?’ she murmured, tilting her pelvis up.
‘Oti,’ he groaned. ‘You deserve more...’
‘Now, Lukas,’ she hardly recognised the need in her own voice. ‘Please...’
He slid home in an instant, a long, low sound escaping his lips. And hers. He drew out and repeated it. Over and over. Faster and faster. And each time she met him stroke for stroke, her legs pulling him tighter in, whilst she ran her hands down his muscular back and obliques, her palms searing everywhere she touched him.
All she could do was wrap her arms around him and cling on. Letting him drive them nearer to that exalted edge, watching it get closer and closer as her breath grew more ragged in the silent night air.
Primitive and perfect, and never-ending, until he reached down between their bodies and into her molten heat, where he performed another incredible sleight of hand trick on her core, and tumbled her into that great white void.
And as he followed her, calling out her name into her neck, Oti realised that she never wanted it to end. There was no denying the truth that was in her heart any longer.
Their wedding might have been fake, but the fact that she was falling for him was very much for real.
CHAPTER TWELVE
‘DID I TELL you that I managed to call Edward on the satellite phone?’
She knew he was awake. It was hours later. After they’d slept a little, only for her to wake up in his arms and make love a second time.
The bed moved as he reached up to the frame inside the safety of the insect net and turned on the torch, the diffused light falling softly around them as he sat up and drew her in closer to him.
‘He’s had his surgery?’
‘No, but he’ll be going in for it later this week.’
‘That’s great news.’
‘It is,’ she agreed. ‘He had the assessment the day after you gave us the funds. There had been a slot and I’d taken it. It’s why I needed the money so urgently. He was classified as a suitable candidate, and he’ll undergo the operation this week.’
‘And when will you know if it worked?’
/> ‘Three months will give some indication, but nine months should give a clearer picture.’
‘If he needs anything else, you come to me, right?’ Without warning, he lifted his hand and slid his fingers under her chin.
It was so unexpected, and so intimate, that Oti wanted to cry. But she refused to.
‘Of course. Thank you. I just...never thought he would go through with it.’
‘Why not?’ Lukas cast her a curious look. ‘Do you think he was afraid it wouldn’t work?’
‘Maybe.’ She lifted her shoulders. ‘Or maybe he was afraid that it would work.’
She wasn’t surprised he eyed her strangely. Scrunching her face, she tried to find a way to explain it.
‘The night my mother died she’d asked Edward to drive her to her meeting. She hated driving at night—she always said the lights dazzled her. But that night he had a work meeting, and he didn’t want to drive back home to collect her, then back to the office for the meeting, only to return to pick her up. So she drove herself.’
‘He blames himself,’ Lukas realised. ‘So why do you blame yourself for his accident?’
Oti didn’t move. She hadn’t known Lukas had been able to read that in her.
‘Your father used your brother as leverage against you for years. That’s more than just being a good sister. That’s guilt.’
She tried to swallow, a thick ball of emotion wedged in her throat.
And then Lukas whispered to her, ‘I’m on your side, no matter what, Oti.’
She choked back a sob. ‘You’re right,’ she managed. ‘Edward blamed himself for our mother’s accident. And I blamed myself for Edward’s. The night of his crash, that Christmas Eve, he was coming to pick me up. I’d gone to a party with some old friends—more acquaintances—but Rockman’s son was there and I panicked.’
‘The one who attacked you?’
‘It was the first time I’d seen him since that holiday, and I was scared. I called Edward and he said he was an hour away but to hold on and he’d come and get me. The next time I saw him, he was in a coma. I believe the report that stated the accident wasn’t his fault, but there’s a part of me that wonders if he was maybe speeding. Just to get to me.’
‘I wish you hadn’t had to go through any of that, Oti,’ Lukas said fiercely, after what felt like an age. ‘You deserve better.’
‘So did Edward. Look at him. If the operation is successful, he’ll regain some use of his arms. But that’s it. He’ll never be back to how he was. And it will always have been my fault.’
‘No, not your fault,’ Lukas growled. ‘It’s Rockman’s fault. If he hadn’t assaulted you...’
There was such fury in his tone that it almost made Oti feel safe and comforted.
‘So why did you marry me, Lukas? I mean, I realise that paying some obscene sum of money was to secure my brother’s company—but whose idea was it for you to marry me?’
It took a moment longer to answer, as if he wished he could give her another answer. Or maybe that was just her imagination.
‘It was part of your father’s price. He wanted the money, and you married off to me.’
It wasn’t a surprise; she’d always known it. But still, she couldn’t help but wish it was different.
Oti struggled to keep her voice even. ‘Why agree? It seems like a high price.’
‘It did,’ he agreed, making her heart kick at his choice of the past tense. ‘At the time.’
‘Oh?’
‘It has been a lot more...enlightening than I’d anticipated.’
She didn’t need to lift her head to hear that he was smiling.
‘So what do you get out of it, Lukas?’
‘I get the truth.’
That did surprise her. Pulling out of his arms, she sat up so that she could look directly at him.
‘What truth?’
Another pause, though he held her gaze, clearly weighing up whether or not he was finally going to share his secret. Oti didn’t realise she had been holding her breath until he finally began to speak.
‘I told you about my mother. I’m not going into that story again.’ His voice was a study in control, and she hated it. ‘But I didn’t tell you about my father.’
‘You told me that you didn’t know who he was,’ Oti said carefully.
‘I lied.’
‘Why?’
‘It wasn’t your business,’ he ground out and then, looking at her again he seemed to soften, just for a moment. ‘And I’ve never spoken about him to anyone.’
She didn’t respond. What could she answer to that?
‘I told you that my mother was a hotel chambermaid. Well, the man she slept with—my biological father—’ he practically spat the word out ‘—was the son of the family who owned the hotel.’
Slowly, things began making a little more sense in Oti’s head. The marriage arrangement. The man who’d so vehemently opposed it. Lukas’s hostile takeover of Rockman’s hotel chain.
‘Your biological father is Andrew,’ she breathed. ‘Rockman. The Earl of Highmount.’
‘He is.’ Lukas could barely say the words. ‘And it wasn’t a one-night stand. He and my mother had a secret affair for over two years. She was deeply in love with him and, for his part, he pretended that he loved her too. But he claimed that he had to prove himself competent to run the family businesses and gain respect before he could present her to his father. My mother was stupid enough to believe him.’
She had to be careful. She could feel his pain and his rage.
‘This is what your mother told you?’
Those granite-grey eyes bored into her.
‘You think she lied.’ There was no rancour in his tone. ‘So did I, at first. But I know it to be true because I visited him when I was about twelve, when she was dying.’
‘Lukas...’ His name came out as a shocked whisper, but he carried on as though he hadn’t heard.
‘Obviously he’d married someone far more respectable by then, but my mother begged me to tell him that she was ill. She believed that he loved her deep down, but hadn’t had any choice but to do what he did. So I went, and he laughed in my face.’
‘That’s horrible.’
‘It’s characteristic Rockman.’ Lukas waved it aside. ‘He then called my mother a multitude of names that I won’t repeat, and said that her gullibility was only one of the pathetic things about her, but that he’d kept her on his leash because she’d known how to satisfy him in bed.’
‘How cruel,’ she gasped, but again he cut her off as though, now that he’d started, he needed to get his story out.
‘He also had a few choice words for me, of course. The headlines were illegitimate, worthless, never amount to anything and, of course, the ubiquitous bastard. Then he had me thrown out of his house. In fact, I think the only reason he let me in was to hear me beg for my mother, and then he could see my reaction and feed off it.’
‘So he wasn’t shocked by what you had to tell him? He’d known she’d fallen pregnant, and yet he’d abandoned her,’ Oti said quietly. ‘Both of you.’
Lukas’s face twisted into something bitter and dark.
‘You’re not even close. He hadn’t just turned his back on my mother. He’d decided the best way to keep his own image intact was to sully hers. After that first meeting with him, I decided to dig around a bit.’
‘You were twelve?’
‘And I was determined. My mother had never told me who he was before that day, but once I knew I went all out. It didn’t take much for me to discover that her pregnancy hadn’t been the secret she’d told me it had been but that his entire family had known about it. About me.’
‘Yet they’d never reached out to you? Either of you?’
‘No. Though I’ve no doubt they knew the truth, publicly they claimed he�
�d never touched her, and that the first time he’d ever had cause to meet her had been because he’d had to fire her from her job when he’d discovered that she had a reputation at the hotel of sleeping with the guests.’
‘She didn’t, though?’ Oti gasped, knowing the answer but needing to ask the question all the same.
‘Of course she didn’t. She was besotted with him. Only him. She never even looked at another man, certainly not when I was a kid. But he also claimed that her assertion that he was the father of her unborn baby had simply been her way of getting revenge and attention, simply to wheedle a hush money payment out of his hotel chain.’
‘Oh, Lukas.’
‘My mother was hounded from her home, and from the village. She had no job, no husband and a baby on the way. It’s an age-old story, but it’s all the more devastating when the man concerned is from a powerful family, and can destroy a life—two lives—with a whisper in his friends’ ears.’
‘I’m so sorry. And yet she loved him all her life?’
‘To the exclusion of anyone else,’ he confirmed bitterly. ‘Even me. Especially me. It’s why she wouldn’t prove that he was the father or demand a DNA test. She always claimed that if I had never been born then they would still have their relationship. She said he’d only done what he did because he’d had to, and that she didn’t want to ruin his reputation.’
‘So this is why you’ve never spoken about it. Because you were ashamed.’ She shook her head. ‘But you have nothing to be ashamed over, Lukas. This is his wrongdoing, not yours.’
‘You misunderstand,’ Lukas said harshly, his eyes so hard that she felt almost crushed. ‘I’m not ashamed. I never was. I’m telling you this because it was the moment I vowed to myself that I would get my revenge. The moment I vowed that I would do what my mother couldn’t, and I would ruin his reputation.’
‘Is he worth it?’
‘He was determined to punish me—a twelve-year-old kid who went to see him because it was what my dying mother had begged me to do.’
Tempted by Her Convenient Husband Page 15